phillips



L'. 0. PHILLIPS.-

Making Buttons from Plastic Materials.

No. 60,053. Patentjed Nov. 27, 18 66.

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sfPE cIFIcATIoN. TO ALL WHOM IT MAY conceals:

Be it known that I, Lommn D. Panama-of the city of New York, inthec'ounty of New Yorh, and State of New York, have invented a newanduseful Machine for Making Buttons from plastic materials; and I dohereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, and of its inode or manner of operation, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon, and making a part of this specification. l The nature of myinvention consists in the production of a simple and compact. machine,by which th eye of the button is formed and inserted in the material ofwhich the button is to be formed, at thesame time that i the button isbeing formed and moulded.

Figure 1 is a general perspective view of the whol machine.

Figure 2 is a detached and enlarged view of the mechanism for feedingthe wire and discharging the buttons as formed. 7 A

Figure 3 is a side view of themechanism for forming the eye.

Figure 4 shows the several parts as they are when the button iscompleted.

Figure 5.11s a front view of the guide for thewire and the eye-former.

- The frame, A, is solid or firmly connected together, so as toformsuflicient support for the several worlri ng" parts, and may befixed to'any suitable table or other support. The machine may beoperated by power, or byf the foot acting upon a prolongation of theupright lever, B, which has its fulcrum at C. To the upper end of suchlever, B, there connects, by the pin a, which works or movesin theangular slot b, a cross-bar or head, D, having its bearing or fulcrum ate, and to the other end of which is fixed the mechanism for i'o'rmingthe eye of and inserting it in the button. To the same lever, B,'belowits turning point, there is connected, by the pin (1, which works in theinclined slot a, another cross-head, F1, which has its bearing atf, tothe other end of which is connected the mechanism that forms and mouldsthe button while the eye is being inserted in it. The eye of the buttonis formed andinserted in the button as follows: A perpendicular rodorpiston, F,'a detached representation of which is shown in fig. 3, passesthrough and moves in a part G of the frame,and connects with the outerend of the cross-head D,thr o'ugh the slot 9, which permits thenecessary lateral motion of the end of the cross-head D, the end of suchcross-headmov'ing in an arc of a circle," while the piston or rod hasonly a vertical motion. In the lower part of such, piston F aresuspendedby'a pivot 11. two jaws,;l and 2,- which are cut away at theirlower ends, on their inside surfaces, as shownat i, fig; 3, sufiicientlyto allow the jaws, when brought together, as shown in fig.-4, to passover and around the former, and the wire bent around it to form the eye.Such-former, H, over which the wire is bent to form the, eye, is fixedto one side of G, as shown in fig. 5, and its. lower end,.which'isrounded to the size required for the button eye, rests upon the" plateI, and over it passes the wire 3, as it is fed by the machine. To steadysuch wire and hold it in position over the former, as the jaws 1 2descend, a thin plate j,'having its lower end slit, is fixed to thefront of the machine, and extends down over thewire, as shown in fig. 5.As the lowerend of the lever, B,is moved in the direction indicated bythe arrow, its upper end is carried in an opposite direction, causingthe pin, a, to move up along the slot, 6, and raising that end of thecross-head D, and consequently forcingdown the other or outer end, andthe piston, F, with it. As such piston is forced down, the jawsl and 2,thebottoni-of whichare slightly concave, are forced against the wire, 3,and bend it over the former,H, the back edge of the jaw I at the same"time cutting oil the wire a properle'n'gth to form an eye. As thepiston, F, still further descenda-a projection,

k, fixed to the sidepf the jaw 2, strikes against an inclined stud, m,securely fastcned tothe plate, I, and at the same time a projection l,on the other jaw,. 1, strik e's against a projection nion the machine,-and the two jaws are thus forced together, and as they complete theirdescent they bend theeye into the forin .shownjin The lower ends of suchjaws, incompleting their, descent, pass througha reflcessiin the plate,- I, as show in v 4, and an edge view of which recess is also seenin fig. 5. Such recess is, however, only just large enough to receivesuch jaws, so that none of the plastic material, of which the button isto be formed, can pass around such jaws and between them and the sidesofjsuch recess At the same time that the piston F is being forced downand the button eye formed, as above described, the inner endof the lowercross bargli, is depressedor forced downward by the action of theinclined slot e on the pin al, and its outer eiid,, wit h,the piston d,iscarri upward. Upon theuppe'r end of such piston J is fixed the buttonmould fig". 4, in whichis placedthc plastiti material, as glass,softened horn, rubber, or other material, from which the buttonis to hefor rned l I tially as and for the purposes set forth. I I

5. The construction and arrangement of the oscillating platebetween themechanism that forms the eye f F and J', are vertically in line witheach other, and their movements toward each other are such that as thejaws 1 2 are descending to form the eye, as before described, the mould,with its contents, is also being elevated; and while the eye isbeingformed it is also forced-or driven into thebutton, K, as shown in fig.4; and is firmly fixed therein as the plastic material cools or hardens.The mould k, which'is fixed to the top of the piston J, gives shape onlyto the face and sides of the bottom; the under side of the button isformed by the under side of the plate, I, and the ends of the jaws 1 and2 (which pass throughthe plate, I, as before described,) which areshaped, as shown in figs. 4 and 5, to correspond with the desired form,flat, convex, or concave, of the under side of the button. The drawingsshow that part of the mould which is formed in the plate, I, as beingconvex.

That part of the mould which is fixedtothe piston J is, however, alittle larger than that part of the mould formed in the under side ofthe plate,.I, so that as the piston J is forced up against the plate, I,the sides of the mould, is, will shutover the mould in the plate, I, asshown in fig. 5, and cut or shave oif'anyof the plastic matbrial whichmay be forced out between the two parts of the mould. As soon as thebutton has been so formed, the lever, B, is moved in the oppositedirectionyand the pistons, F and J, recedefrom each other, and

the button is left suspended by its eye from the former, H, from whichit is discharged, as hereafter mentioned.

The wire, 3, isfed, as required for each successive eye, in thefollowing manner: From the inner end of the cross-head, D, extends abar, L,- which connects also with the-curved arm, M, the' outer end ofwhich -is geared, andmeshes vinto the toothed wheel N, which rotatestheroller, 0, carrying along thewire, 3, which passes between such rollerand 'the roller P. The toothed wheel, N, is fixed to the plate N, fig.1, and both are loose upon-the axle, a, so as to move freely in eitherdirection. Asthe inner end of thecrossbar D, is raised the curved arm,M, is raised, rotating the wheel, N, backward, or in the directionindicated by the arrow in fig. 2, such wheel then turning freely on theshaft, 0; but as the inner end of such cross-bar, D, is depressed, or asthe .piston F is elevated, the arm, M, is forced downward, rotating thewheel N and plate N in an opposite direction, or forward. As such wheeland plate are so revolved, a pawl upon the plate N falls into aratchetwheel, r, fixed to the axle, o, and thus. gives motion to theroller, 0, which carriesv forward the wire over the former, H, and inposition to be shaped into-an eye by the next descent of the piston F.The distance from tooth to tooth in the ratchet, 1', is such as todeliver, at every descent of the arm, M, sufiicient wire for a buttoneye. The wire is thus delivered as the parts of the mechanism, whichform the button, are receding from each other, and is fully deliveredbefore such parts again approach each other. To the plate :N is alsofixed a pin,

'8, which. as .such plate is revolved by the descentof the arm, M, dropsinto a recess or hook on the end of the arm R, drawing such armbackward, and thereby rotating the plate, I, to which such arm B. isattached, sufficiently far to carry the button from oif the former, H,on which it was left suspended, as before mentioned. As the outer end ofthe cross-head, D, again begins to descend, the curved arm, M, islifted, revolving backward thesplate N and moving forward the arm R, andcarrying or moving the plate, I, back to its proper position for theformation of another button. As the motionjor rotation ofthe plate, I,required to discharge the button from oil the former, H, is much lessthan the'extent of the revolution of the plate N, the arm R is cut -10rsloped awayfrom the hook in it before mentioned and toward the plate,I', ona curve the radius of' which is .equalto the distance from theaxle o to the pin 8, so that when the plate, I, has been carried to itsproper posi-' tion the pin 8, as the plate N is further revolved, willpass up along such curve out of the hook in the arm B. without furthermoving the plate I. Whenthe plate N is revolved in the oppositedirection by .the descent-of the arm M, the pin 8 passes down such curveand does not begin to act upon the arm Runtil such pin has passed-Iinto,the hook or recess before described. Such arrangement also permitsthe plate I to be at rest at the times when the jaws are passing throughit in the formation of the eye, andv also .while they are passing out ofit.

The drawings represent a machine constructed to form but a single buttonat one operation, but the machine can be made to form a number ofbuttons-atone and the same time.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is- I 1. The general construction and arrangement of the entire machinefor forming buttons from plastic materials, the several partsconstructed and operating,. severally and in combination, substantiallyas described.

2. The combination and arrangement of the operating lever B, with thetwo cross-heads or levers, D and E, substantially as described, by whichthe outer ends of such cross-heads are made to approach or recede fromeach other simultaneously, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

3. The construction and arrangement of the movable jaws, in combinationwith the former, or its equivalent, for making and shaping the eye ofthe button, the several parts constructed and operating substantially asdescribed. v i I 4. The construction and arrangement, substantially asdescribed, of the mould to form the button, the same being in two parts,one fixed and the other movable, and the latter shutting over or uponthe former substanand the movable part of the mould, such platesupporting the former while the eye .is being formed, and constitutingalso aportion of themould for shaping the button, and by its oscillatingmotion discharging the buttons as they are formed. r e V I 62 Thecombination of the several parts forming the eye of the button withtheparts which mould or shape the buttonfand their relative motionstoward each other, and operating substantially as described, whereby the1 eye of the button is formed andiu'sertedin the button at the same timethe latter is being moulded and shaped.

7.- The; arrangement of the mechanism for feeding thewireto form theeye, arranged and operating substantially as described. I

8. The construction of the arm, 13, in combination with the pin 0, ortheir equivalent, 101- oscilla'ting the plate I, subastanticlly as andfor the purposes set forth.

Witnesses:

S- D. LAW, Fm. B. Sam.

L. D. PHILLIPS.

